May 25, 2006

Beanie Sigel Shot in Arm, During Robbery Attempt

You gotta be kidding me. Glad to hear Beans is in one piece. But seriously people.. my fellow people of planet Earth.. you gotta be kidding me. How many times is this going to happen?

And please spare me the "this has been going on forever, it's not a hip-hop issue" copouts.. this particular case might be totally random, and every particular case has its particulars.. but there have been way too many of these particulars in hip-hop lately, for us to keep rationalizing it all away with our age-old "America has always been violent" platitudes. I don't pretend to know a better answer, but I know these old answers (or more precisely, reasons to avoid the question) ain't cutting it.

Beanie Sigel, the popular rapper who has been shadowed by his violent past, was wounded by gunfire during an attempted robbery early Thursday. The holdup was attempted around 7 a.m. by five males traveling in two cars, but there was some confusion about where the shooting took place, police said.

Sigel's attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., said the shooting appeared to be "a random act of violence."

The 32-year-old rapper spent a few hours at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania before leaving around 11:40 a.m. Thursday in a wheelchair, wearing a hospital gown, blue jeans and a blanket over his head. He also had a bloodstained towel on his right shoulder.

Moments later, he pulled his hospital gown aside and showed a bandage on his left shoulder to reporters. His left arm was in a sling and his left hand was bloody, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on its Web site.